


I missed you.

by wiski



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M, Pre-Slash, Season 3 spoiler, The Alpha Pack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-11
Updated: 2013-02-11
Packaged: 2017-11-28 23:19:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/680000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wiski/pseuds/wiski
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles sees Derek for the first time in three months.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I missed you.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [seasickfish](https://archiveofourown.org/users/seasickfish/gifts).



> For Gunnhild, who was one to bring the news about the [latest TW spoiler](http://wiskix.tumblr.com/post/42830188387/with-all-thats-going-on-with-the-new-alphas-in) to my attention earlier today and then squeed with me over it.
> 
> Thanks to emptyword as usual for taking a look at this and helping me with the ending.
> 
>  
> 
> (Thanks a lot for making us cry, Dylan O'Brien. ;-;)

It’s been over three months of unbearable tension and mounting terror and slowly spreading sense of despair, with the Alpha Pack lying in wait in the shadows, looming closer and closer. Stiles feels weary to the marrow of his bones, nerves worn thin, close to snapping from lack of sleep and the constant threats on his and his friends’ lives. He’s no closer to figuring out the exact structure and inner workings of the Alpha Pack than he was when the first hints of this new wave of unrest descended upon Beacon Hills (certainly not for lack of trying though) and he’s still not certain of their true intentions beyond their own claims, and Stiles does not trust a word out of their leader’s mouth, the conniving bastard.

With Erica still missing and Jackson suddenly disappearing without a trace, the werewolves at Beacon Hills are becoming increasingly high-strung. Stiles has not seen Scott smile in days, and Boyd has been silent and closed off since his return; Stiles has only barely managed to get from him a few sparse details about the Alpha Pack—estimated number of pack members, a couple of names—and those are the only things he knew for certain at the moment. On top of all this, Derek, who is their best chance at making it out of this mess in one piece even though Stiles is loathe to admit it, is still in absentia, as he has been since near the beginning when he went off on his own despite protests to “deal with things” as he ambiguously put it. They do get sporadic updates from him in the form of barely legible notes scribbled on scraps of paper dropped off at the newest decrepit place he found for him and Isaac to stay in, at least, though Stiles has seen neither hide nor hair of the grouchy alpha in the past three months. Isaac insists that Derek is okay and will be back for good once _things_ are taken care of—he has seen Derek four times (very briefly at their new “loft”) since he first left, which is more than what anyone else can say—though even he is starting to look increasingly doubtful of his own words. Stiles refuses to worry about Derek.

And now, out of the blue, Scott says he smelled something “not exactly human” at the school. Stiles is not sure what to make of it. Is the Alpha Pack finally making a move after the months long stalemate? Or is this a new threat they have yet to be aware of? Stiles feels on edge just thinking about all the possibilities.

He drills Scott until he’s sure there’s nothing else of import to be learned, and then shoots off a quick text to Isaac and Boyd asking them to meet up at Isaac and Derek’s place after school. Then he proceeds to be jittery and jumpy until his classes for the day are over, mind spinning around in desperate circles.

Scott and Isaac are quiet on the drive to the run-down building Derek calls “home”, leaving Stiles to fill the tense silence with inane chatter about school. Boyd is not there yet when they let themselves in, though at least he texted earlier that he will be around.

Stiles leaves Scott with Isaac where they’re having a quiet conversation, presumably about some werewolf-y matter or another, and wanders through the hole in the wall (there’s an actual _hole_ in the _wall_! What even.) into the open space in the middle of the dwelling, away from the living area (which is just a sectioned off little corner with some mismatched furniture strewn about) where the other two are whispering back and forth. He tries to decide if he wants to try his luck with the wobbly looking chair in the corner or just make do with the dusty floor. Maybe he should try the spiral staircase in the middle of the loft? Why did Derek get a place with a spiral staircase of all things, anyway? Stiles is chuckling at ridiculous mental images of Derek sliding and falling down the spiraling banisters when something looms out of the shadows behind said staircase.

Stiles nearly screams (he will forever deny that squeaking sound Scott and Isaac heard was made by him) and trips over his own feet. He is mentally preparing himself for making a painful acquaintance with the filthy ground when something catches him around his waist. He gets the wind knocked out of him and flails his arms around, trying to regain his balance. His hand hits something mid-flail, something hard and warm and—clad in leather? Stiles quickly tries and half succeeds in flipping himself over, and when he looks up, he finds Derek looking back at him, face placid and one eyebrow raised.

“You certainly haven’t changed these past three months. At all,” Derek says, stare fixed on Stiles, face still devoid of emotions, but there’s a hint of something indecipherable in his eyes.

Stiles just gapes for a second. He is suddenly very much aware of their positions, of how Derek is basically dipping him in some sort of eerily dance-like move, how Derek’s broad hand is on the small of his back, how one of Derek’s powerful arms is around his waist, how they haven’t stopped staring each other in the eyes yet. Stiles briefly wonders when his life turned into a crappy Harlequin romance with him as the hapless heroine and _Derek_ of all people as the dashing hero.

After another moment of silent staring, Stiles clears his throat awkwardly. “Uh. A little help…?”

After another uncomfortable pause, Stiles feels Derek flex his arm and, with a whoosh rushing of air, he abruptly finds himself back on his feet.

“Th-thanks—?”

Derek is very close now, Stiles suddenly realizes with a start. Derek still has his right hand on his lower back, arm curled (a little protectively?) around him, eyes boring into Stiles’s. Their noses are merely a couple of inches apart. Stiles can faintly feel the warm gusts of Derek’s breath on his lips. Stiles has a hand on the lapel of Derek’s leather jacket to steady himself, and he can feel, if he pays enough attention, the even rhythm of Derek’s heart under his clutched fist. Stiles’s own pulse is slowly picking up, and he can feel the heat of a blush slowly creeping up his neck.

Derek’s eyes flick down for half a second and Stiles can feel his heart skip a beat and then pick back up, hammering out a quick, erratic tempo. Stiles isn’t even sure himself what he’s holding his breath for, but he is waiting with bated breath for _something_ to happen.

—and Derek tenses all of a sudden and looks over Stiles’s shoulder, then removes his arm and steps smoothly away.

“Derek!” Stiles can hear Isaac’s delighted voice and some indecipherable grumbling from Scott coming through the hole in the wall (this will never stop being funny in his head, Stiles thinks idly), and hears a flurry of footsteps.

Derek starts heading in their direction, and gives Stiles’s shoulder a light pat when he walks past. Stiles sways a little on his feet, knees almost buckling, heart still beating too fast. He heaves a sigh and closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, squares his shoulders before he follows Derek to where he is being bombarded with questions by the other two werewolves.

Soon Boyd shows up as well, and the five of them briefly exchange information and news. Stiles updates Derek on the developments in his research, and Scott tells Derek about the suspicious scent he picked up in the hallways at their school. Derek is not very forthcoming, which is typical, but he does tersely tell them some tidbits he had managed to find out about Deucalion (and what kind of parents would name their child _that_ , Stiles would very much like to know; it’s _almost_ worse than his own name), the leader of the Alpha Pack. Stiles promises to look into some of the suspicious plants Derek found in the forest around the old Hale house.

The sun is starting to set when they wrap up their meeting. They agree to meet up again the next day, when Stiles has more info about the mystery plants, to decide on the next move. Isaac and Scott are talking animatedly about a trip to the pizza parlor on their way home as they grab their bags from where they are dumped in a dusty corner, and Stiles watches as Boyd gets a squeeze on the arm before he quietly heads out the door. The early evening sun filters in from the enormous window covering one of the walls of the loft and lights up Derek’s profile, throwing his angular features into sharp relief. His face is gaunt, far more so than it had been three months ago, his cheekbones more prominent than ever. There are dark circles under his eyes. He looks older, tired, and worn. Stiles suddenly has to suppress an intense urge to wrap Derek up in warm blankets and feed him chicken broth.

He steps closer to Derek, lightly bumps his shoulder with his own. Derek glances over at him, head slightly tilted to one side questioningly. The “Welcome back,” and “I’m glad you’re okay,” and the jumble of other inane things die on Stiles’s lips, and he finds himself at a sudden loss for words, so he just looks Derek in the eyes and says, “I missed you,” quietly, sincerely.

**Author's Note:**

> _I know. I'm sorry._
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Alternate sappy ending with gratuitous staring and feels that I wrote, which I ended up scrapping but decided to put here in case anyone's wondering what happened after:
> 
> Derek freezes up, eyes widening, jaw going slack. His breathing picks up slightly and his lips twitch a couple of times as if he wanted to say something, but no sound comes out. Derek is looking at him with a half fearful, half hopeful, and kind of heartbroken expression. Stiles wants to reach out a hand and just touch, wipe away the fear and terror because those expressions do not belong on the face of a fearless alpha.
> 
> They stare at each other for another wordless moment. There is a new kind of tension in the air, different from earlier when Derek held Stiles close after his almost-fall. The moment is broken by Scott this time, who yells for Stiles to “Hurry up! Pizza, dude!” Stiles sighs and looks away, and, with a nod to Derek, picks up his bag to jog over to where Scott and Isaac are waiting by his Jeep.
> 
> He can feel the heavy weight of Derek’s gaze prickling at the back of his neck until the Jeep turns the corner.
> 
>  
> 
> (Ugh, I'm killing myself with UST. I swear they eventually do get around to passionate love confessions and make-outs without getting cock-blocked by everyone. One day. _Sorryyyyy_.)


End file.
